


A Light That Never Goes Out

by Enisy



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Missing Scene, Season/Series 07
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25097149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enisy/pseuds/Enisy
Summary: Damar and Kira finally come to terms with Ziyal’s death.
Relationships: Damar/Kira Nerys
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18
Collections: Little Black Dress Exchange 2020





	A Light That Never Goes Out

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thinlizzy2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thinlizzy2/gifts).



> Beta-read by the talented [Duinemerwen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duinemerwen/works). Check out her _Good Omens_ fanfiction!

It was early evening when Damar barged into Kira Nerys’s quarters.

Knocking was not really an option. The Cardassian Liberation Front had grown at such a breakneck pace, its headquarters no longer had space enough for everyone... and hence, Kira did not have a “room” as such. More of a “corner demarcated with weapons and an alarming number of pink socks.”

Point was, he _barged_. Kira didn’t stir from her kneeling position, though – just threw a scathing glance at him over her shoulder. “What do you want?”

“I –” Not for the first time, Damar had to tamp down his irritation at Bajoran arrogance, and at the gall of this woman in particular. They were allies now. Allies. “Revok drafted a list of possible locations for our other bases. Like the Rogarin Province. And the Mekar Wilderness. I was hoping you’d go over them with me, given your… expertise… in this department.” He paused. Coughed into his hand. “ _Please_.”

Kira’s eyes softened a little at his conciliatory tone. She had beautiful eyes, huge and dark and striking. To his chagrin, he was beginning to understand what Gul Dukat saw in her. “Sorry, Damar,” she said, turning away again. “I’m busy right now.”

Damar nodded but made no overtures to leave. In fact, he took a step closer to her, feeling curious. “You’re… meditating?” In front of her was a large saucer with a goblet on it, crowned with a tongue of fire.

“Duranja lamp,” said Kira, as if the word should mean something to him. “For Ziyal.”

That name passed through him like a burglar, but a careless one, tossing things to the floor, upending chairs and tables, causing all kinds of damage. _Ziyal_. Who he’d killed. Murdered in cold blood, for an ideology he would abandon mere weeks later. Her face still flashed in his mind from time to time, so Damar couldn’t even imagine how Gul Dukat must be taking her death. And Kira, of course. Kira, too. The least Damar could do was apologize.

Today.

Right _now_.

“Well,” his traitorous mouth said, “let me know when you’re done. The sooner we set up our other bases, the sooner we can get you some proper quarters. With a working desk. And a _door_. This place has gotten a bit packed of late.”

“We are a victim of our own success,” said Kira.

It felt like the temperature had dropped several degrees. She didn’t ask him to leave, but Damar had gotten the message. Her socks all seemed to be facing in his direction, poised to kick him out.

His pride prevailed. Holding his head a little higher, he said, “Ziyal would be proud of our movement.”

He couldn’t see Kira’s face – she was looking away from him – but she visibly stiffened. When she did speak, she enunciated every word distinctly, as though Damar were soft in the head. “For all I care, she could be sad, embarrassed, or spraying the station with vulgar graffiti,” she said, “as long as she was alive.”

Dammit.

Damar could get scrappy after a couple glasses of kanar, but he was sober now – and though his stomach twisted, it was not in anger. “I’m sorry.” He bowed his head in acknowledgment, and finally, finally turned to leave. The duranja lamp had branded his sensitive eyes, peppering his vision with black spots.

“I’ll be done in a few minutes,” Kira gritted out. The next words took a lot out of her, Damar could tell, but she said them anyway: “You might as well wait here.”

The flame danced softly in the dim dark as Kira chanted: _Ema bo roo kana… uranak… ralanon Ziyal…_ Damar did not understand a word of the prayer, and it embarrassed him, because Bajor _had_ been part of Cardassia for half a century. Shouldn’t he have been more invested? Without thinking, he placed a hand on Kira’s shoulder. She flinched a little, but kept on staring straight ahead.

They watched the lamp burn.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [enisywrites](https://enisywrites.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr. Come on over if you want to drop me a prompt or a question, or to just say hi!


End file.
